Police-Reported Rates of Cannabis-Related Drug Offences Declined For The Fifth Consecutive Year In 2016

Statistics Canada released its annual comparison of police-reported crime statistics today for 2016, showing cannabis-related arrests declining for the fifth year in a row. However, cannabis-related offences still make up over half of all drug-related arrests in Canada.

The report looks at police-reported crime for 2016, across Canada’s 33 Metro Areas.

The rate of possession of cannabis went down by 12% from 2015 with all provinces and territories reporting declines, except for Prince Edward Island, which went up 15% and New Brunswick, which went up 7%. Quebec reported no change.

The report notes there were about 95,400 Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA)offences reported by police, representing a rate of 263 per 100,000 population. Of these, more than half (58%) were cannabis-related offences. In 2016, there were about 55,000 cannabis-related drug offences reported to police, about 6,000 less than were reported in 2015. The majority of these offences (81%) were possession offences which represented a rate of 122 per 100,000 population, 12% lower than in 2015.